Feline Drama

Haaaaalcy.
You've met Halcy. She's one of D's two (fat) cats.

Lately, D has been leaving the french doors to the back deck open so that the cats can wander in and out freely. They've always been indoor cats but, when allowed to, they've loved going on to the front porch or back deck and sitting in the open air. Swatting at bugs is an added bonus. D decided it was time to gradually introduce them to more of the outdoor living, thus leaving open the french doors. Hailey usually stays close to the door but Halcy is the more brave of the two and will creep farther and farther away, although she has always stayed on the deck.

Last night D went to lock up the french doors and didn't see the cats on the deck so he shut everything down and we went to bed. He always brushes Hailey before bed and sometimes Halcy will wander in and either want to be brushed or just hang out, but it's not unusual for Halcy to be MIA before we go to bed. I was home all day today but it's also not unusual for me to not notice the cats while I'm here. They meander about and sometimes just stay under the bed all day. So when D asked if I'd seen Halcy and I said "No", that wasn't too unusual. But when he called for her several times and she didn't appear, we got suspicious.

D wandered the house looking for her while I put dinner on the table, thinking he'd find her right away, no problem. I knew it wouldn't be a quick thing when he left to check outdoors. Right about then is when he put it all together and realized she had probably wandered off the deck the night before and he had locked her out. We both thought this was a bit ironic because D had scheduled to get Halcy declawed tomorrow morning at 7am and then all of a sudden she was missing.

Our back yard is fenced, but since it's sloped there are gaps under it where a cat could easily slide under. Before you go thinking our back yard is a typical back yard with some grass and a few plants, let me show you what it looks like.


It gets more "jungley" as it slopes down toward the wetlands in back. I just saw a racoon the size of a yellow lab wandering around on our deck a few nights ago and I know they roam the wetlands so that's what I was most concerned about.

D left because he was meeting his dad at the gun range for target practice. I guess I felt guilty in a way because I had never made it a secret that I did not like the cats. Granted, I never wished them harm in any way but I just didn't want them in my house. During the last few weeks they were wearing on D's nerves, too. Halcy would claw at our new furniture and for some reason Hailey became deathly afraid of the garage where the litter box was so our house became her litter box. I know, say it with me: "EWWWWWWWW!!!" D had gone so far as to email people that we know and ask if anyone wanted the cats, and he called the vet to ask for recommendations for no-kill shelters. So, the cats have not been on our "warm fuzzies" list lately.

Anyway, I didn't want Halcy to be in danger and I felt sick with her being gone because I knew that D would be upset even if he wasn't acting like it. So, while he was at the gun range I got in my car and roamed the neighborhood a bit. THen I walked from our house around the block to the other side of the wetlands and tried calling for her. I was having pretty consistent Braxton Hicks contractions while I was out walking around so I headed back to the house. I stood in the back yard for a while but eventually came inside.

D called on his way home saying that he was going to stop by Lowe's. I was pretty surprised that he was willing to kill daylight that he could be looking for Halcy so I convinced him to come home and spend the evening light looking for her. I guess he'd been thinking of places she might be, because right when he got home he looked here:

Under our hot tub.

And he saw this (look directly to the right of the pole that's in the light):


For some reason the many times we were outside calling for her before this she wasn't meowing. Now, when D was looking at her under the hot tub deck and saying her name she started meowing. D gave her some food and was able to pet her from under the deck, but since there's only one way in and one way out, it was obvious that Halcy either didn't want to come out or didn't know how to come out. She would even hiss at D when he was petting her from the entrance:


She would. not. come. out.

So, we left her there. I mean, D tried getting her out for at least a good 45 minutes but when it became obvious that she didn't want to leave we weren't going to lasso her and drag her out so there she still stays. D left some food for her but I think we're both past the point of feeling sorry for her. She had ample time to get out of there and didn't. Think she knows English and figured out that she was headed to the vet tomorrow?

Anyway, that's our feline drama for this evening. I had some mint chocolate ice cream and some chocolate ice cream so I feel better now. D doesn't work tomorrow so we have a movie date with Netflix tonight. He's playing Call of Duty right now but says he's just waiting on me to finish my blog before he quits his game. Yeah, right. :)

I said it on Facebook, but it bears repeating....it's a little crazy to me that I will have this baby girl before the sour cream in our refrigerator expires.

Probably should get another belly picture tonight, but I decided makeup was entirely unnecessary today so I'm going to rebel against the belly shot. Plus, I have a [sweet friend|starryfish] coming in to town this weekend who takes amazing pictures and she mentioned wanting to get some more belly pictures of me. Does she really know what she's in for? I mean, I've got the belly...I got a lot of belly. Bring the wide angle lense, Sarah!

I'm rambling. You'd think that since I'm not working anymore I'd be more diligent about updating my blog but the truth is that I'm not. I'm lazy about it. I think that's because I like posting pictures when I post a new blog and that takes effort and a subject.

Ok, for real. Signing out.

EDIT: D tried again for 30 minutes and was finally able to coax Halcy out enough so that he could grab her and bring her indoors. So, the cat is now safe and sound...



I'm sorry for my lack of writing skills...I mean really sorry. They're BAD